Volusia schools looking at outsourcing custodial jobs

Published: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 11:53 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 10:22 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH — A proposal to outsource nearly 500 custodial and grounds maintenance jobs from Volusia County schools to save money will be presented to the School Board next week.

The November defeat of a property tax referendum that would have generated $26 million annually and a looming budget deficit for the year starting July 1 are behind the recommendation, according to a letter hand-delivered Tuesday to the president of the union representing the affected employees.

"Reductions in spending, while prioritizing student instructional programs, services and activities, are necessary and require immediate action," wrote Michael Dyer, school district chief counsel, in the letter to union president Tom Wenz.

School district estimates of how much might be saved by the subcontracting move weren't immediately available. Superintendent Margaret Smith was in Tallahassee for legislative committee meetings and did not return calls seeking comment, nor did senior school officials.

If the School Board agrees to the subcontracting idea, contract proposals will be sought from private firms. A final agreement would be subject to board approval.

The decision to subcontract custodial and grounds maintenance services rather than employing school district workers to perform them "is a unilateral and non-negotiable managerial right," Dyer wrote.

Wenz said the union -- Local 850 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- plans to challenge that assertion. The union represents about 1,500 Volusia school custodial, maintenance, transportation and food service employees plus campus advisers.

"I was totally blindsided," Wenz said of the subcontracting proposal. He said school district officials had assured him as recently as last week there was no such plan in the works despite widespread rumors to that effect.

Wenz said more than 480 school district employees would be affected by the subcontracting plan and they're worried about health insurance coverage and future pensions even if they keep working in schools through a private firm.

The School Board agenda item on the subcontracting proposal says "the superintendent will make provision in the procurement process for the hiring of employees within (the affected) classifications and for a pension benefit by the vendor(s)."

David Caplette, who was out of work for two years before landing a school custodian's job last spring, said he's worried about his future employment and benefits. Caplette said he believed his position with the school district was "a nice secure job" until the recommendation to outsource custodial services surfaced.

Some Florida school districts started subcontracting certain support services about 10 years ago but most still employ their own workers to perform those functions, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association. Food service, maintenance and certain types of repairs are the most commonly outsourced functions, he said.

Contracts vary from district to district, depending what's negotiated between the School Board and the private firm taking over the services, Blanton said. Existing school district employees often move to the private firm's payroll when it takes over and receive similar fringe benefits, he said, although benefits usually are trimmed in the future as those workers leave their jobs and are replaced by new hires.

Flagler County ended its contract with a groundskeeping company about five years ago, Senior Director of School Operations Mike Judd said, and now provides those services in-house. The move allowed the schools to save money, but that's partly because the district "lowered our standards for what was going to be acceptable grounds maintenance," Judd said. The county's approximately 100 custodial and 10 groundskeeping staff members are now district employees.

About four years ago, School Board members also considered privatizing transportation, even putting out a request for proposals that indicated Flagler could save money by contracting those services. But board members feared losing control to an outside entity that likely would be "less flexible" than district employees, Judd said. Over the past several years, the School Board also has considered privatizing other areas like food service.

The Volusia board will consider the custodial issue when it meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the School Administrative Complex, 200 N. Clara Ave., DeLand.

<p>DAYTONA BEACH &mdash; A proposal to outsource nearly 500 custodial and grounds maintenance jobs from Volusia County schools to save money will be presented to the School Board next week. </p><p>The November defeat of a property tax referendum that would have generated $26 million annually and a looming budget deficit for the year starting July 1 are behind the recommendation, according to a letter hand-delivered Tuesday to the president of the union representing the affected employees. </p><p>"Reductions in spending, while prioritizing student instructional programs, services and activities, are necessary and require immediate action," wrote Michael Dyer, school district chief counsel, in the letter to union president Tom Wenz. </p><p>School district estimates of how much might be saved by the subcontracting move weren't immediately available. Superintendent Margaret Smith was in Tallahassee for legislative committee meetings and did not return calls seeking comment, nor did senior school officials.</p><p> If the School Board agrees to the subcontracting idea, contract proposals will be sought from private firms. A final agreement would be subject to board approval.</p><p>The decision to subcontract custodial and grounds maintenance services rather than employing school district workers to perform them "is a unilateral and non-negotiable managerial right," Dyer wrote. </p><p>Wenz said the union -- Local 850 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- plans to challenge that assertion. The union represents about 1,500 Volusia school custodial, maintenance, transportation and food service employees plus campus advisers. </p><p>"I was totally blindsided," Wenz said of the subcontracting proposal. He said school district officials had assured him as recently as last week there was no such plan in the works despite widespread rumors to that effect. </p><p>Wenz said more than 480 school district employees would be affected by the subcontracting plan and they're worried about health insurance coverage and future pensions even if they keep working in schools through a private firm. </p><p>The School Board agenda item on the subcontracting proposal says "the superintendent will make provision in the procurement process for the hiring of employees within (the affected) classifications and for a pension benefit by the vendor(s)." </p><p>David Caplette, who was out of work for two years before landing a school custodian's job last spring, said he's worried about his future employment and benefits. Caplette said he believed his position with the school district was "a nice secure job" until the recommendation to outsource custodial services surfaced. </p><p>Some Florida school districts started subcontracting certain support services about 10 years ago but most still employ their own workers to perform those functions, said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association. Food service, maintenance and certain types of repairs are the most commonly outsourced functions, he said.</p><p>Contracts vary from district to district, depending what's negotiated between the School Board and the private firm taking over the services, Blanton said. Existing school district employees often move to the private firm's payroll when it takes over and receive similar fringe benefits, he said, although benefits usually are trimmed in the future as those workers leave their jobs and are replaced by new hires.</p><p>Flagler County ended its contract with a groundskeeping company about five years ago, Senior Director of School Operations Mike Judd said, and now provides those services in-house. The move allowed the schools to save money, but that's partly because the district "lowered our standards for what was going to be acceptable grounds maintenance," Judd said. The county's approximately 100 custodial and 10 groundskeeping staff members are now district employees. </p><p>About four years ago, School Board members also considered privatizing transportation, even putting out a request for proposals that indicated Flagler could save money by contracting those services. But board members feared losing control to an outside entity that likely would be "less flexible" than district employees, Judd said. Over the past several years, the School Board also has considered privatizing other areas like food service. </p><p>The Volusia board will consider the custodial issue when it meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the School Administrative Complex, 200 N. Clara Ave., DeLand.</p><p><i>Education Writer Annie Martin contributed to this report.</i></p>